ITC adjusted PAT up 6.5%

Cigarettes-to-hotels major ITC on Tuesday reported a 22.64 per cent increase in consolidated revenue from operations in the quarter ended March 31, but clocked a 2.7 per cent drop in profit after tax compared to the year-ago period, which included a lower tax cost.

The firm, however, said comparable Q4 PAT was up 6.5 per cent, after adjusting for one-time benefit in the corresponding quarter of the previous year.

Consolidated profit after tax was ~3,819.62 crore for the quarter ended March 31, 2021. It was at ~3,926.72 crore in the corresponding quarter of the previous year and ~3,587.09 crore in the previous quarter.

Consolidated revenue from operations was up 22.64 per cent to ~15,404.37 crore during the quarter from ~12,560.64 crore in the year-ago period, which reflected disruptions due to lockdown towards the end of March. Segment-wise, revenue from cigarettes was ~6,508.43 crore, up 13.18 per cent from ~5,750.44 crore in the year-ago period and 6.8 per cent from ~6,091.17 in the previous quarter. The firm said there was continued recovery in the cigarettes business and volumes touched pre-covid levels towards the close of the year.

Non-cigarettes FMCG segment revenue was ~3,694.80 crore in the quarter compared to ~3,190.34 crore a year back, but down from ~3,752.61 crore in the previous quarter.

Revenue from cigarettes was ~6,508 cr, up 13.2% YOY from ~5,750 cr, and 6.8% over the previous quarter

Pre-tax profit from cigarettes business increased 6.7 per cent to ~3,895.27 crore from ~3,649.88 crore in the corresponding quarter of the previous year and 6.4 per cent quarter-on-quarter.

Pre-tax loss narrowed from ~72.25 crore to ~40.26 crore in the March quarter.

In the corresponding quarter of the previous year, it had posted a profit of ~38.27 crore.

For the full year (FY21), revenue from operations were ~53,155.12 crore, up 3.4 per cent compared to ~51,393.47 crore in the previous year. Profit after tax was at ~13,382.88 crore, down by 14.16 per cent from the previous year.

The board has recommended a final dividend of ~5.75 per share. Including interim dividend of ~5 per share, total dividend for FY21 is ~10.75 per share.